Happy New Company
by DarkPoisonousLove
Summary: Griffin and Valtor are celebrating New Year's Eve with their friends. The once nasty remarks are now only playful teases and the mean looks have turned into warm smiles and kind words but there are still things left unsaid that can change the course of events. Part 2 of "Sparks of Life".
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the sequel to "Insanity" and is set about a month and a half after that. I wanted to finish "Insanity" before posting this but it appears that that won't be possible and I decided to start posting this considering it revolves around this time of the year and the celebrations of the coming new year. If there are questions, feel free to ask since the previous part is not finished yet.**

"Valtor, come on!" Griffin's voice came from the living room, and the clicking of her heels penetrated into the study even though he'd closed the door since he didn't want her to see what he was looking for–that was if he could find it, of course–or at least, he didn't want her to see it yet. He had a plan that would've been going so much better if he hadn't misplaced the central piece of it. "We're going to be late," Griffin said as she swung the door open, causing him to drop the folders of documents he was rummaging through back in the cabinet and close it. "What are you doing in here?" Griffin asked, her gaze slowly shifting to the now closed cabinet before it found his face again. "Did you buy me a present?" she asked, her brows slightly knitted still but that was just her desire to know the truth and not her irritation that he was slowing them down.

"No," he said, hoping it would sound convincing and it did but that wasn't enough to deceive Griffin who just raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for the truth. "Maybe," he budged. He couldn't lie to her, even if he wanted to. And this time, he did, because he wanted to give it to her at the right moment. Timing was everything and he'd miscalculated the moment to get busted.

"Can't you just give it to me when we get back? It won't run away," Griffin tried as she shifted her weight on her other foot, the moving of the hands of the clock unnerving her even when she couldn't see or hear it. She so hated to be late and the fact that the two of them hadn't made any progress towards the door of their own penthouse, not to mention Marion and Oritel's place while the seconds were flying by was tugging at her nerves for sure. The passage of time that was no doubt registering loudly in her mind was like the build up to an explosion.

"No, that is out of the question," he said as he tried to control himself and not snap at her when she was already on edge. It wasn't her fault that he couldn't find the thing that was so important to him. "Why don't you go get the car started and I'll... take care of this?" he offered as he grabbed the car keys from where he'd left them on the desk–he hadn't managed to get those lost under all the documentation he'd pulled out in the last five minutes at least–and handed them to her.

Griffin sighed and walked over to him. "Okay," she said as she caught the keys but didn't pull them out of his hand. "But you have to promise me you won't take too long if you can't find it," she said, making his heart sink when he realized she'd figured out he'd lost her present. He hadn't wanted to let her down. "You're the only gift I need," she said, her voice getting quieter as if there was something more she wanted to say but couldn't. She let her fingers brush against his as she pulled the keys out of his grasp and her eyes were like big ambers that kept all her love for him safe inside their cores before she turned away and walked out of the room, making it impossible for him to take his eyes off of her until she disappeared out of his sight.

The thoughts of her present came flooding back the moment his attention was released from her grip and he pulled open the cabinet once more to go through it more thoroughly this time. The day he'd gotten the present he'd hidden it in one of the folders so that she wouldn't see it as he brought it home since he knew she would have no reason to look at them. She'd walked into the study while he'd been looking at them, though, and he'd thrown everything in the cabinet so that she wouldn't accidentally see her present. However, he had no idea in which folder the present was hidden now and he had to go through all of them.

He should've done it earlier but that night he'd let her pull him to bed and the following days he hadn't found enough time to look for it since the end of the year was always a busy time that left him with so much work that he could barely look at her before going to bed absolutely exhausted, remaining conscious for only long enough to feel the warmth of her body against him before sleep snatched him away from her. And he'd hoped that he'd have the time to look for it when he came home and she was still out with Faragonda–they'd had a little celebration with Ediltrude, Zarathustra and Griselda since they couldn't spend the actual last hours of the year together–but he'd been late and she'd already been home, urging him to change so that they could be on their way to Marion and Oritel's house.

Luckily for him, the present wasn't in the very last folder buried at the bottom. There were still three or four folders left to go through when he was met with the golden wrapper he'd chosen as he flipped one open.

He grabbed it and put it in the inner pocket of his suit jacket, careful not to damage it in any way. He hoped it'd be safe in there. It had already caused enough inconveniences and he didn't want to have it destroyed next. After all the trouble he'd gone through to get it and keep it a surprise–and he'd even managed to screw up with that one–he just wanted to see the look on Griffin's face when he gave it to her, just wanted to see the smile she'd given him when he'd told her he loved her, when he'd proposed to her, when they'd been pronounced husband and wife. It was her brightest one and as much as he enjoyed seeing it, he enjoyed the thought that she was happy enough to gift him with it even more. It was his job as her husband to make her happy, after all, and that was more important to him than everything else in the world. Being good at that mattered more than the company and the power, and the status, and everything else.

He practically flied out of his study, leaving the documentation all over his desk. He'd put all of it back in its place when they came back. He knew how important it was to her to be on time and, frankly, he was quite excited himself about spending New Year's Eve with friends. He'd never done that before and the knowledge that he was wanted at that celebration burned pleasantly, keeping him warm even against the cold memories of being denied friendship and close human contact for years. And he was glad to change that, even if it meant that he wouldn't get to be alone with Griffin that much which was the only thing he could protest against. But he knew that she was there to stay and she would always be at his side and they could allow themselves to spend some of their time with their friends.

Friends. The word rang through his head like the elevator did when it arrived at the penthouse. He'd never expected that that was what their weekend at the cabin would lead to–and in such short time, no less–when he'd agreed to it. Or rather, when he'd very reluctantly let Griffin drag him into it. She was good at convincing and he couldn't deny her anything so he hadn't had much of a chance there.

He walked into the elevator and pressed the button that would take him down to the garage where Griffin was waiting for him as he hoped he hadn't taken long. The view of the living room before the elevator doors closed triggered the memory that was already lurking in his mind and that he'd come to appreciate for a whole new reason as well.

"_What?" he asked as he caught Griffin's fist, blocking her attack. Though, he was probably holding on to her more than anything else now that the words had left her mouth. He didn't have the strength or concentration to fight her physically when he'd have to fight her verbally. And he'd have to because there was no way in hell he was spending his entire weekend into some godforsaken cabin in the middle of the woods that were in the middle of nowhere with people who didn't like him. And he didn't like them right back, no matter how much Griffin wished he could get along with them. He couldn't because they wouldn't let him. Otherwise, he would do even that feat for her. It just didn't depend on him, though._

"_It will be good for us," Griffin said as she stood still, letting him process before resuming their sparring. Or it was just that she hoped he would agree easier if she wasn't hitting him literally when she was doing it figuratively already. And he wasn't sure if that was better or worse. He couldn't quite tell how close or how far that was from manipulation and he was already falling down the rabbit hole of his insecurities where it was dark and cold, and slippery, and so hard for him to pull himself out of it. And she shouldn't have pushed. Not that hard._

"_Which part exactly will be good for me?" he asked, pushing her arm away from himself so that he wouldn't drag her down along with him. He didn't want to hurt her, and he would have been willing to try if she'd gone for something smaller. But she was asking the impossible of him. And he could feel the apprehension of what would happen if he couldn't deliver clawing at him as he kept falling, tumbling down and farther away from her. And all he ever wanted was to be with her. Close enough to touch and ever closer. And he hated that he had to pull away when she was pushing against him. But the only other option was to hurt her, and he hated just the thought of that more than anything else in the world._

"_Just... give them a chance?" Griffin asked, her eyes begging him to fall into her again but he had to bend to her will for that to be possible and he couldn't do it. Not this time. He would break. He would break after she'd helped him put himself back together and it would hurt them both when the pieces cut her with their jagged edges and forced her to stay away if she wanted to survive._

"_You want _me_ to give _them_ a chance?" he asked and he couldn't help the anger and bitterness that made his voice the equivalent of a rising, roaring wave in the sea during storm. There was too much resistance in him for her to get through and she would only hurt herself if she tried. And he knew she would. "They're the ones who refuse to give me a chance," he said as he attacked, too much restless energy for him to just stand around and he was afraid that it would pour out through his voice if he didn't move to put it in his actions."They've made it perfectly clear they don't like me," he said, as he tried to concentrate on the sparring and the fact that it was Griffin that was standing in front of him and not any of her friends that had acted like he couldn't be trusted to have her around him every time they'd been forced to spend time together by their connections to her._

"_That's because they haven't seen you the way I have," Griffin said, probably not realizing the irony of the situation since he was sure that could they see them at the moment, with him making a new move right after she'd just blocked the previous and her panting like it was extremely taxing on her–though, that was probably an effect of the conversation because they'd been sparring for years now and she'd had her fair share of victories even if she looked smaller and weaker–they would brand him a monster. And just the thought was tainting a favorite shared activity of theirs. He couldn't stand to imagine what a weekend with those people would do to him and his inner world. "They haven't seen the soft side of you," Griffin said just as he caught both her arms, rendering her immobile. Or so he thought._

_She pushed and he found himself falling to the mat they laid out when they were training just like he'd fallen for her trap. She hadn't been the one who'd been too affected by their verbal conflict. He had been. And he would be complaining more if she weren't currently lying on top of him with nowhere to go because he was still holding her arms. It was worth the impact from the fall to have her pinned on top of him. Or to be pinned beneath her. It didn't matter. Either way, he won._

"_I know I'm asking a lot," Griffin said, redirecting his attention back to the dreadful topic when her face was so close to his and he wanted to focus on kissing her lips instead of listening. "But I'm doing it because I think we can all use a fresh start," she said and her eyes were full of all those good intentions that he couldn't let himself believe the others shared. He was safe in her arms but he couldn't take the chance of letting anyone else in only to have himself reduced back to the lost, self-loathing mess that he'd been before. He didn't want to be that anymore and opening up to people was just giving them the opportunity to hurt him, whether they wanted to do it or not. Because no one could understand him fully, not even her, but she loved him and that was enough for him to know she had his best interest in mind. He couldn't say the same about anyone else, though. "Can you trust me?" Griffin pulled him out of his thoughts and plucked his heart out with the questioning look in her eyes._

"_Of course I trust you," he said as he let go of her arms to wrap his around her waist and pull her closer than gravity would have her. She was the only one he trusted, sometimes even more than he trusted himself. And perhaps there was something else he couldn't see with his gaze full of doubts that she'd noticed since her mind had always been clearer, and he had no problem letting her be his eyes since she'd guided him out of so many self-destructive patterns by now. And of course he could trust her, to protect him from himself and everyone else. He knew she'd never let anyone hurt him again. "I don't see things the way you do but I trust you," he said, watching the smile break out on her face like the sunlight pierced through the darkness at daybreak. It was the one light that could never blind him. "I may need some more convincing, though," he said as he let his hands slide down her curves slowly, letting them both savor the contact._

"_Well," Griffin said, her lips getting pulled into a smile, "I'm always happy to debate." She leaned in and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he sat up and not breaking the kiss even as he pushed himself to his feet, still holding her close to him and heading for the bedroom._

The doors of the elevator opened to leave him with the sight of the cars that were parked in the garage. Rather fitting considering the journey they'd headed on back then and that he was happy he'd let her convince him to start. It had left them with a place they were expected and friends who'd meet them with a warm smile and open hearts and he still had a hard time believing it was all real. But they'd already spent Christmas together and it had been magical, as corny as that sounded.

He got in the car to find the keys in the ignition and Griffin meeting him with a questioning look.

"All good," he said and went to start the car since she hadn't wanted the emissions of the engine to fill the entire garage and had left it to him. And he ignited it immediately not only because they should have been on the road more than ten minutes ago, but also because she'd been waiting for him in the cold car. She was warmly dressed with her green turtleneck and beige coat but he didn't want to take any chances.

She was quiet, except for scolding him that he was trying to cook her with the warmth that was coming from the air conditioner, and was staring out of the window as they moved through the busy streets as fast as the traffic would allow. She looked like her mind wasn't quite there and he couldn't help the question of whether she was trying to avoid him.

"Are you still mad at me for the delay?" he asked, not wanting to remind her that he'd also misplaced her gift. He didn't want to remember that himself. It made him feel like he didn't appreciate her enough to tear away from his work for a few minutes and make sure he had everything under control when it came to her present. He'd understand if she was angry–he was a bit annoyed with himself–but he still couldn't help the heaviness that laid on his chest at the thought.

"I'm not mad," Griffin said quietly, her gaze still trained on the rapidly shifting view from the window and her voice quiet like she didn't even want to put the energy in answering.

"Are you disappointed?" he asked, risking to make her mood worse, but he had to know. He had to know what was wrong in order to start fixing it. And he wanted to fix it. He didn't want to leave her with negative feelings for him. Especially, on the cusp of the new year. Perhaps it was his own insecurities that made the superstitions seem more rational to him now, but he didn't want to take any chances of making her miserable the entirety of their next year if she went into it upset with him.

"I'm not," she said, her voice not any louder but she moved, still not looking at him but at least she'd gotten out of her stupor. Even if her head was bowed–he was torn between keeping his eyes on the road so that they wouldn't crash and glancing at her to make sure she was okay–and her hands were clasped in her lap. "I'm just... nervous," she admitted, surprising him. He'd never expected that answer, but now that he'd gotten it, it wasn't time to question it. She felt the way she did and what he had to do was make her feel better, not judge her for something she had no control over.

"Well, we should be good if we count on continuity. After all, the Christmas celebration went well," he said as he reached to catch her hand and give it a little squeeze before returning it to the steering wheel. He wanted to offer her more comfort, of course, but making sure they made it to their destination in one piece was a priority right now.

"Oh, yeah?" she said, her voice getting louder now that the spark of an argument was igniting inside her. "Is that why Faragonda is telling me that Hagen is still fuming about that one?" she asked as she turned to look at him and he didn't need to look to know her eyes were full of the challenge that was in her tone as well.

"Well, you did kiss his girlfriend," he said, allowing a smile to take over his features as he noticed the feigned expression of disbelief on her face out of the corner of his eye.

"It was an innocent little peck," Griffin protested, her outraged defensiveness amusing and calming at the same time since it meant her mind was slowly letting go of her worries to allow her to joke around. "She's my best friend. It's not unheard of."

"That's the way you see it," he said just to keep the playful fight going as it seemed to be doing its job of taking her mind off of what was bothering her.

"Are you jealous?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly, and he couldn't tell if it was from laughter she was trying to cover up or because she was genuinely worried about his answer. It wasn't supposed to be the second since they'd been through the jealousy issue before–a lot of times, unfortunately–and he'd learned to trust that she was his and that she didn't want anything else. And they'd been good ever since then. So he didn't want to give her a reason to think he didn't have complete faith in her and her love for him.

"Of Faragonda?" he asked. "No," he said firmly. "I know what she means to you." And because he did, there was no reason to be jealous. He knew how much Griffin cared for her best friend–and that all of that was returned unconditionally–and he knew that there was enough love in her heart to give both him and Faragonda. And he knew that even though they both loved Griffin, they perceived her differently and therefore, gave her affection in different ways. And he'd never think of taking Faragonda's friendship away from her just like he didn't feel threatened by it. Because Griffin needed them both. "I'm just saying that if you wanted to kiss her, you probably should have done that before she had a boyfriend. You know, when the option of a threesome was still on the table," he said, hoping that he wouldn't push them to another extreme. He was just joking to show her he was comfortable with their friendship.

The over the top shocked gasp that left her made it hard for him to hold his laughter in, only the thought that he had to stay concentrated on the road ahead saving him. "I see," Griffin said, shaking her head. "This was all about what you want."

He was about to say that he only really wanted her but the narrowing of her eyes gave him pause. Something was happening in her head and it was probably best to see what that was before speaking. He didn't want to pour gas on the fire. He'd already risked enough with his joke.

"Perhaps Hagen will be more on board with this if we invited him in on the action," Griffin said, pretending to consider the thought seriously.

Just the idea of Hagen anywhere near her–in _that_ way–almost made him floor the brakes and turn back around to drive them home. Which was probably exactly what she'd been trying to make him understand. His joke had been misplaced, putting images in her head that she'd probably never wanted to see. Though, he, at least, was more jealous and possessive rather than feeling like he wasn't enough for her so he hoped she hadn't felt that either. And he shouldn't have made her feel any of those, really.

"Okay, I had this coming," he admitted, nodding. "I get the message, and I will now close this topic," he said, glancing at Griffin to see her smiling in amusement, though there was also a deeper emotion in her eyes that let him know he'd done the right thing.

"That's probably for the best," she said as she relaxed back into her seat.

Valtor debated it for a moment, before speaking. "I'm sorry," he said, deciding that it was better to make sure the situation was resolved rather than just take the chance of any hurt being left there. And it was surprising how easily apologies came to him these days. But his pride meant nothing compared to his love for Griffin and he wouldn't risk losing her just because he couldn't own up to his mistakes.

"It's okay," Griffin said, her voice quiet again but it was reassuring this time because it meant she could find the peace of mind to speak calmly. It meant she wasn't hurt or angry.

"Are you sure?" he asked because it was scary to face the truth that he might have caused her pain. But it was scarier not to. It reminded him too much of who he'd been before when his mothers had convinced him that admitting you'd made a mistake was weakness. And he'd been pushing everyone away with his inability and unwillingness to take care of their feelings after he'd hurt them. And he'd been too good at hurting.

"I'm sure," Griffin said and her eyes were full of honesty but her smile still looked restrained, like something was holding it back. Though, it might have been what she'd been thinking about before.

"Is it really okay that we didn't get anything for Bloom?" he asked, hoping to redirect her attention to something else. And she'd been so enthusiastic when the baby had arrived. It looked like the conversation they'd had had helped as she'd been holding Bloom and radiating so much genuine happiness that it had taken his breath away and had made his heart ache at the thought of seeing her holding their own baby. Even more so when he'd known that she wanted that, and that he wanted it, too.

"It's more than okay, trust me," Griffin said, her voice louder now as she was talking about something that, hopefully, didn't poke her insecurities. Though, he knew the topic of children was still sensitive and only the feeling of the present he'd gotten her in his inner pocket helped his heart relax just like he hoped it would do for her. "Marion said we'd flooded them with baby toys and clothes and Bloom's room can't fit them all in," she said, a small smile pulling at her lips that tugged much harder at his own heartstrings as it was good to see her fight the demons in her own head so that she could be happy. He was glad he'd been reminded she had those herself–even if he was mentally kicking himself for not noticing it before she'd laid it out in front of him–as he could now be there for her when she needed him even if she didn't want to show she needed support.

"Well, it's not a bad thing that we're enthusiastic, is it?" he asked to show her he was there with her. In the excitement as well as in the fears too. He'd always been one to think about the worst that could happen in any situation so that he could find a way to deal with it before it had happened. But she'd been the one to teach him to think about the best scenario and hope that that was what would happen. And it baffled him that she wasn't following her own advice but he was right there to be her mirror and show her how kind and smart and amazing she was so that she could see it herself.

"No, it's not," she said. She inhaled loudly and held her breath like she wanted to add something else but the words refused to come out. Or rather, it was her brain that was trapping them inside. And he knew she could take much but she had a limit, too, and he didn't want to see her even nearing it, not to mention pushing herself past it.

"Do you want to tell me something?" he asked, glancing at her every few seconds to make sure he wouldn't miss any emotion that would cross her face. He wasn't the only one that refused to put his emotions in words, but he feared that he was worse at reading her than she was at reading him, which meant he had to pay more attention to her. And that was currently not exactly possible as he was driving. He just wished they would get there already so that he could focus on her fully.

"I do but..." she looked down at the hands in her lap again and stopped herself when she noticed she was fidgeting with her wedding band. "I don't feel ready," she admitted quietly and he could see there were no tears on her face since it was left open as her hair was held in her braid but he could hear them falling from her soul. And it worried him a lot.

"Take your time," he said even if everything inside him was screaming at him to push for the answer. But he couldn't let his own insecurities make him rush her when she'd always been so patient with him, letting him do things at his own pace. "Don't push yourself because you're worried about how I'm handling the wait. Take care of yourself first." She'd been patient even when he'd taken ages to ask her to marry him even though it had been clear to him he would never love another woman because he'd been afraid she wouldn't love him back. Not because she'd ever given him any reason to doubt her feelings for him, but because he hadn't believed he'd been worthy of her love. And instead of rushing him, she'd kept showing him that she loved him until she'd helped him feel secure enough in himself to accept it. And he needed to do the same for her.

"It's not something bad, it's just..." she tried but there was still resistance somewhere inside her and he didn't want her to break herself apart just to get the words out when he could wait for her to tell him. Besides, she'd already taken the time to reassure him there was nothing wrong with the news she had for him. And of course, he was still worried about the conflict inside her but pushing her to tell him wouldn't solve that. He just wanted to take care of her and sometimes that meant trusting her that keeping it inside was healthier for her than forcing herself to share. She was the one who'd told him not to overshare if he wasn't ready, after all.

"Whatever it is, I'll be here to hear it when you're ready to tell me," Valtor said and reached to take her hand again to support his words. He had to let her know he meant it and if letting the warmth of his touch seep through her skin and inside her being was the way, then that was exactly what he would do.

"Thank you," Griffin said and for the first time her voice was full of relief, like she could finally breathe now that she wasn't torturing herself because she was keeping her own private thoughts private.

They drove in silence after that but it was comfortable now that both his and her worries were soothed. And even the knowledge that there was something left unsaid between them couldn't throw him off balance, for he'd learned to trust her and not the monsters in his head that were trying to make him destroy her and what they had. And perhaps he was a long way yet from being the perfect husband but he was willing and eager to improve. For both of them and for their love.

They arrived at Marion and Oritel's house a little bit later than they were supposed to but that didn't seem to register considering the emotional car ride. And he was glad to see that Griffin had forgotten to worry about it as she unbuckled her seatbelt slowly, not even bothering to check the clock on the dashboard. Though, it was obvious that they were last to arrive again as Hagen's car was parked right in front of them.

"I want to make my New Year's resolution now," he said before she could open the door and let the cold evening air of the alley and the outside world in their bubble, before they could dive into the celebratory atmosphere. "I will do my best to be a good husband," he said when she let her hand fall away from the door and looked at him. He made sure to hold her gaze to show her he was serious. He'd realized back at the cabin that while he was fascinated by her and couldn't take his eyes off of her, he was still missing important things like the fact that her own self-doubts were as loud as his or that she'd been trying to hide that from him, most likely to protect him from herself which was the last thing he needed. And he was now vowing to pay more attention to her and her needs so that he could truly be there for her in good and in bad.

Griffin studied him for a moment as if trying to make sense of his words. "That shouldn't be such a challenge considering everything you've been doing for me," she said, her eyes full of appreciation that he didn't feel like he'd deserved but it still made its way into his heart anyway to keep him warm.

"Are you saying I'm a good husband?" he asked, not quite sure he'd read her words correctly, considering everything he'd done just in the last few hours.

"I'm saying exactly that," Griffin confirmed before smirking at him. "And I'm willing to seal it with a kiss," she whispered as she leaned closer before capturing his lips in a passionate kiss that could be considered tame compared to some they'd shared in the past but it had security sparkle up inside him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ****This disagreed with me a little as there was supposed to be a flashback but it was getting too long and it's getting too late so the flashback will be in the next chapter along with some others.**

Griffin looped her arm through his and he was glad she went through the trouble even when she'd have to let go of him the moment the door opened and they started getting hugs and handshakes. The warmth of her touch complemented the lingering feeling of her kiss and kept the cold of the last day of the year away and his spirits high. And he hoped they would only get higher as they were met with the inviting demeanor of their friends, even if that would prompt him to pull away from her for a while. But she would still be right there by his side as they were also surrounded by other people that loved them. He couldn't imagine anything more magical.

He rang the bell and looked at Griffin who smiled at him, and if she had been the one to encourage him the previous times they'd stood in front of Marion and Oritel's door waiting to be let in, then this time her smile was more grateful for the hand he'd given her with the mess in her head, and he ached to stroke her cheek and offer her more comfort for her to lean in but he was holding the two bags that contained their entertainment for tonight and he didn't want to let go of her yet so he had to pass on that. Regretfully. Very regretfully.

The door opened, drawing his attention away from the unfortunate turn of events and revealing Oritel who smiled at them.

"Welcome," he said as he stepped aside to let them come in where Hagen was also waiting for them. Not that Valtor was upset at seeing them but he'd been expecting Marion and Faragonda to meet them. Yet, they were nowhere to be seen, leaving them with the two men.

"Sorry we're late," Griffin said, looking at Oritel as she let go of Valtor's arm to take off her coat. It was more than warm at Marion and Oritel's house and she'd been bothered enough by everything in her head to allow the heat to get to her, too, and cook her alive. "We had some things that had to be dealt with," she said but her eyes were now on Valtor to make sure he knew she didn't blame him and he appreciated it, hoping she'd be able to read that in the look her returned.

"That's okay. We're all over the place ourselves," Oritel said as he took Griffin's coat from her, surprising with the honesty. He usually insisted on presenting a collected front but after Bloom's birth and all the emotions they had shared around it–all four Valtor, Griffin, Faragonda and Hagen had dropped everything the moment they'd heard that Marion had given birth and had driven to the hospital to deliver the congratulations and encouragement that were in order and Marion and Oritel had both seemed really touched by their readiness to help with everything they could–that seemed to go to the back of his mind when they were together. Whether because he considered them friends now or because the care for baby Bloom had left him too exhausted was yet to be determined. Though, the fact that they had a babysitter to help them was making Valtor lean towards the first. "You need a hand there?" Oritel asked him, nodding towards the bags he was holding.

"No, I'm good," Valtor said, giving them to Griffin who was quickly by his side to take them so that he could take his coat off as well. Not that he didn't trust Oritel, but he preferred to have her hold on to what they'd prepared together specifically for the occasion, and Griffin seemed to return his feelings if the smirk she gave him was anything to judge by. "You seem a little underdressed," he said as he gave his coat to Oritel as well, looking over his outfit. He was wearing jeans which was definitely a first and the top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned which the lack of tie allowed for. Apart from their stay in the cabin, Oritel had always worn a tie when they'd gathered, and it was strange to see him without one. "No appreciation for my Christmas gift, I see," Valtor teased, letting enough amusement seep into his voice so that he wouldn't be taken seriously.

"Yeah, I decided to loosen up a little this time," Oritel returned, not letting the comment get to him even for a second which hadn't been Valtor's idea anyway. Otherwise, things would have been different but that was all behind him now. Those teases were the most biting remarks that left his mouth these days and perhaps it was less 'in with the new' and more 'out with the old' but it seemed to work well enough not only for him, but for everyone else too so he was content with that progress. "What about you? I don't see the gift from Marion and me either even though it would be very appropriate considering the essence of the celebration," Oritel asked, making them sound like two kids that were insecure enough in their friendship still to need validation over every single interaction.

It looked like Griffin had had the same thought because her lips were pursed in an attempt to hold her laughter in when he glanced at her.

"I thought it wouldn't be such a tragedy if I left it at home this time," he said as he wore an obviously fake apologetic expression. He and Griffin had been worried enough as it was. They hadn't needed anything else to prompt even more negativity. "It's been put to good use, though," he reassured but it seemed that wasn't enough for Oritel who looked at Griffin for confirmation and only seemed to relax once she'd nodded. "Good call on loosening up, though. You could use that," Valtor said as he patted Oritel's shoulder theatrically and focused on Griffin and the bags she was holding.

Oritel did give him a glare that he pretended he didn't notice before moving to hang their coats, leaving them with Hagen for the time being.

Griffin looked at Hagen as Valtor took the bags from her and the robotics engineer turned his head away with a pout on his face like the drama queen that he was. "Come on, Hagen, it was just an innocent little kiss," Griffin whined, entering her own drama queen mode and leaving Valtor with the striking realization of how much she and Hagen were alike in that regard. Faragonda seemed to like the dramatical types. Though, considering the matching wedding bands on his and Griffin's hands he couldn't really judge. If anything, an overdramatic spouse certainly made things more interesting. And he would never trade Griffin for anything in the world.

"Innocent is not a word that goes with you," Hagen grumbled as he crossed his arms, turning slightly away from Griffin and looking exactly like a fussy child, making Valtor look away to make sure he wouldn't burst into laughter and ruin the entire scene they were putting on.

"You don't mean that," Griffin drawled out the last word as she summoned her best glassy look that gave the impression she was about to cry from Hagen's rude treatment as she moved so that he could look right into her eyes and feel guilty for his words. Valtor was pretty sure that his wife had been an inquisitor in a previous life or something. And she wasn't really trying to torture Hagen currently.

"Like hell I don't," Hagen said, looking her right in the eyes as he did his best to remain impartial to the gut-wrenching stare she was giving him but his gaze softened almost instantly. Valtor had to give him credit, though, since he was holding up far better than Faragonda or Ediltrude and Zarathustra would have been in that situation, or, well, him.

"You know Faragonda loves you," Griffin said seriously, dropping the pretense and making Hagen's resolve drop and shatter as well, his arms unfolding and falling at his sides as his lips even got pulled into a gentle smile. "Besides, I have Valtor," Griffin said as she walked to him and wrapped her arms around him, her touch tender and firm at the same time, making him smile as well which kind of ruined his own theatrics.

"Oh, so I'm just a replacement since you can't have what you want?" he asked, going for scandalized but the feeling of her body pressed against him was filling him with too much content for it to look believable. Not to mention that he wrapped an arm around her waist despite being allegedly offended.

"I told you," Griffin said as she turned to him, her gaze holding his as she put genuine emotion into her words, "you're the only thing I want." She gave the words a moment to sink in before going for a kiss on the cheek.

That wasn't enough for him, though, so he turned his head, capturing her lips into a passionate kiss and pulling her even more into himself which drew a moan from her throat that gave him the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss as his tongue slipped into her mouth. He almost dropped the bags he was holding in his desire to wrap his other arm around her as well and hold her so close that she was one with him well into the New Year. He couldn't imagine a better way to start another chapter of their life together and was seriously considering it when Hagen cleared his throat, abruptly severing his string of thoughts.

Valtor broke the kiss and opened his eyes to glare at Hagen for the interruption.

"I'm the one who deserves an apology for this display," Hagen said coldly with a stone face, completely missing the point of the glare even when he'd read the reason behind it correctly. "And make sure to keep your wife away from my girlfriend," Hagen added, knitting his eyebrows at the memory of the kiss.

"You mean her best friend?" Valtor asked. "Yeah, I don't think that will happen." He would gladly just keep holding on to Griffin and showering her in all the love he held for her, and if that meant holing themselves up in their bedroom and never leaving it again with the sun rays and the starlight as their only companions, he wouldn't mind too terribly. Griffin was all the world he needed. He was still surprised when he found that he'd miss the people they'd just only recently started bonding with–or at least he–and it was quite the shocker. But he couldn't lie to himself when he knew he would feel the absence of that feeling of being accepted by others, like he'd finally found his place in the world and he didn't have to hide in Griffin's embrace–though, he was still highly tempted to simply because that was the best place to be–afraid that the world will throw him off of its surface if he dared poke his head out. "I wouldn't get between them and I would advise you not to do it either," he said seriously, the advice genuine. He wouldn't take well to someone trying to take Griffin away from him or trying to make her distance herself from him. Which was just another plus of his mothers being sent to jail before he'd met her. They wouldn't have liked her and they'd had an uncanny way of getting inside his head so he was beyond relieved that he hadn't had to go against them for his love for Griffin to be given a chance to bloom.

Hagen held his gaze, the grumpy facade falling away to reveal deeper emotions underneath, and Valtor knew he'd been heard. Hagen certainly knew how much Griffin and Faragonda meant to each other considering the effect Griffin's words had had on him earlier when she'd reassured him of Faragonda's feelings for him. And Valtor knew he wasn't seriously considering to try to stand between the two of them but it was better to warn him, just to be safe. It would be a shame if Faragonda broke up with him after Valtor had made so many efforts to get along with him. And he didn't want to see Faragonda heartbroken over having to choose between Griffin and Hagen when she loved them both dearly.

"It was in the name of tradition, Hagen," Griffin said, her tone lighter as she was trying to brighten the mood that had gotten too serious for a celebration.

"Speaking of which," Valtor grabbed at the opportunity to move along to the fun parts of their gathering. Or at least, the fun parts for him and Griffin. It was yet to be seen what reaction he would get out of Hagen, though he had a feeling it wouldn't be in the positive spectrum of emotion. "Griffin and I have brought something for us all," he said as he let go of her reluctantly to open one of the bags he was holding, "and something for you specifically," he said, trying to keep a straight face as he pulled out the packet of cookies Griffin had made. There would be time to gloat later.

He handed it to Hagen who froze the moment he saw the treats inside. They were shaped as rings and while the normal cookies they had brought had several pieces of chocolate jutting out of each one, those only had one that made them look like engagement rings with a gemstone each.

Griffin had spent at least an hour–he might have spent about the same amount of time staring at her adorable expression of concentration instead of helping her–to make them just like that and he was still in awe that she'd taken to his crazy–and a little cruel–idea and had actually done most of the work on it. He'd expected her to tell him to drop it since it carried the potential for a serious argument but she'd just given him a wicked smile and whipped out the products she needed to make the cookies. And he had fallen in love yet again.

Just as he'd expected, though, Hagen's reaction to the "cookies" was very polar to the amused energy radiating from both him and Griffin. He didn't explode but the look on his face unambiguously suggested that he was extremely done with their prank. And they hadn't even brought it to its full potential yet.

Valtor sighed dramatically. "No appreciation of our hard work," he turned to look at Griffin who met him with a sad gaze carrying just a hint of disappointment in it.

"I thought you would be a bit more considerate having in mind your own feelings on the matter of meddling," Hagen tried, the annoyance practically making up his tone but there was also some hurt in there. Like, he'd been betrayed and the realization that his actions might have hurt Hagen, hit Valtor harder than he'd thought and he felt a pang of guilt and some anxiety setting at the pit of his stomach since he hadn't expected Hagen to consider him trustworthy. And he'd done everything to prove he wasn't.

He opened his mouth to apologize but was interrupted when the others decided to join them. They first heard Faragonda cooing at Bloom before she walked into the living room, walking side to side with Marion who was carrying the baby in her arms, and Oritel walked behind them, looking like he was expecting something to attack so he was keeping himself battle ready.

"Put this away," Hagen growled as he shoved the packet in his hands only for Griffin to snatch it away as she headed towards her best friend, leaving both Hagen and Valtor frozen at their places.

"Griffin," Marion noticed her first since Faragonda was preoccupied with Bloom who was currently quite content to be holding on to her finger and was looking at her with her big blue eyes, returning the smile Faragonda was giving her. "I can't quite welcome you currently," Marion said apologetically even if her difficulty was understandable. Bloom occupied both her arms and Faragonda and Oritel were standing at her sides like guards that made it impossible for Griffin to reach her.

"That's okay," Griffin said as she smiled widely at Marion and then looked to the baby in her arms. "I know I'm not the center of the universe. At least at this party," she said as she focused on Bloom herself. Her braid fell over her shoulder as she leaned down and the tender purple color must have caught Bloom's attention because she let go of Faragonda's finger and reached for Griffin's hair instead. "I'm sorry, Bloom, my braid is off limits," she said as she returned the braid back to its previous position so that it was falling over her back and was hidden from Bloom's gaze. "I don't like my hair pulled," Griffin said as she made an exaggerated expression to compensate for denying Bloom access to her hair.

"Since when?" Faragonda asked, so matter-of-factly, without even looking up, dragging Valtor out of his stupor only to send him into another shock as she practically voiced his thoughts. Only he'd thought it inappropriate to say that in the current situation. He'd have to up his game. He couldn't have Faragonda rooting him out of his place as the most scandalous and insufferable friend in the group.

Griffin looked genuinely shocked as well, the disbelief on her face looking like it had seeped deep inside her skin as it took her a few seconds to react. "I am very offended, Faragonda," she said as she went for crossing her arms before she remembered she was holding the packet of cookies. "First, you don't greet me and then you start spilling my kinks like that in polite company," she huffed in fake outrage since there was no harm done really. Marion and Oritel seemed to have gotten used to what the friendship between Griffin and Faragonda actually looked like and not to the version they showed to outsiders. The only problem could be...

Faragonda looked at Griffin for a second before drawing her into a hug that his wife easily accepted. "Come here, you witch," Faragonda said as her arms moved over Griffin's back, keeping her close.

"Look who's all rude tonight," Griffin bit in return. "And I'm the witch? Just so you know, I won't be tolerating this behavior for a whole year so you'd better straighten it out in the next few hours," she said as she pulled away from Faragonda and narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"Still have a few hours left to annoy you then," Faragonda grinned as she tugged on Griffin's sleeve, causing her whole turtleneck to shift on her body.

"You keep that up," Griffin chuckled dangerously in warning, "and I'll have to take matters into my own hands," she said, her head shaking slightly in a subtle threat that was supposed to convey the message even better as she pulled her sleeve back to its previous position.

"What are you gonna do? Punish me?" Faragonda asked as she stepped even closer to Griffin, holding her gaze in a challenge as she didn't seem intimidated by the way Griffin was staring her down. But of course, they were too used to each other's antics to fall for them. Or rather, to not fall for them and quit their banter. Valtor knew that from experience and while he had no problem with it, Hagen looked like he might drop to the floor any second now.

"As a matter of fact-"

"I think you should stop," Valtor interrupted Griffin making everyone look at him except for Hagen who still seemed to be processing everything he'd heard. "Hagen looks like he'll have a heart attack," he added and hearing his name seemed to snap Hagen out of his stupor. "They're just joking around," he said as he put a hand on Hagen's shoulder for support before walking over to the couch to set down the bags he'd been holding since they'd arrived.

"I'm so glad Daphne isn't here to hear all of this," Marion said as she looked at Oritel. "She'll never look at either one of them the same way." She was probably right about that since Daphne seemed to respect both of them deeply–even if she leaned a bit more towards Faragonda–and their childish behavior could prove a bit unsettling to someone who'd been looking up to them her whole life.

Her words seemed to snap Faragonda out of her BFF mode. "Right," she said as she remembered they weren't alone. "What's that you're holding?" she looked down at the packet of cookies, looking grateful to have something that allowed her to change the topic.

Hagen didn't seem so thrilled by it as he walked over to her and crossed his arms frowning in Griffin's direction and some overprotective instinct came over Valtor, making him join them as well and wrap an arm around her shoulders. Not that he needed to watch out for her just because Hagen was currently having a problem with her–she could watch out for herself–but he wanted to be by her side since the whole idea with the cookies had been his doing and he'd hate for her to get the burnt of it when it was his responsibility. Though, he'd been ready to drop it.

"We made cookies," Griffin announced enthusiastically as she looked up at him before returning her gaze on Faragonda. "We have the rings here and the others that are circles are in the bag on the couch," she said as she shoved the packet in Faragonda's hands. "You know, coming full circle and all that," Griffin gave a sickly sweet smile, waiting for Faragonda's reaction.

"They look delicious," Faragonda complimented, not saying a word about their shape or Griffin's behavior that was very obviously off. She wasn't that clueless–as proven before–so she was simply refusing to play into Griffin's prank. Perhaps for her own good as much as for Hagen's. "We should open them and add them to the rest of the feast on the table," she said before walking over to the kitchen to find two bowls to put the cookies in before they sat down on the table so that they wouldn't have to get up again.

Speaking of Hagen, his shoulders drooped at Faragonda's words, in a way that suggested resignation rather then relief. And it seemed very familiar to Valtor, poking at the back of his mind from a memory that he preferred to keep buried away, for it caused him pain. Perhaps he had to dig it out, though, and use what he'd learned from it to talk to Hagen, apologize for the out-of-place prank and try to help him. It would be a good way to send the old year away and celebrate the change it had brought him. Because there was a significant change and he owed a big deal of that to the others who had done their best to reciprocate his efforts at building a genuine bond between them. He just needed to find a good moment to talk to Hagen when he could be sure they wouldn't be interrupted.

"Will you hold her while I go help Faragonda?" Marion's voice snapped him out of his thoughts when she turned to Oritel, and he looked at the baby in her arms that was peaceful currently. Marion seemed to have managed to calm her down after Griffin had denied to entertain her with her own hair. And Bloom hated it when she didn't get what she wanted, starting to cry almost immediately. A loud bossy baby was what she was and Valtor had joked that it was obvious she was Oritel's daughter, making Marion laugh and throwing Oritel in shock before he'd admitted that Marion was less obstinate than he was. Not for a lack of stubbornness, though. She just tried to reason with people first.

"I think Valtor wants to hold her," Oritel said to his wife before both of them turned to look at him and gave him knowing smiles, though he only got worried when he felt Griffin's gaze on himself as well.

He looked down at her to have her smile at him and catch his hand to disentangle herself from him. He did get an encouraging squeeze from her before she let go of him and allowed him to walk over to Marion, in a bit of a trance as he was.

He'd held Bloom before but he was still terrified of doing something wrong since she was so delicate and small. It would take just one wrong move to hurt her and he was always extremely self-conscious when he was holding her, watching out for every single action of his which was exhausting. He'd never thought it would be a tiny baby that would bring him down but he had to admit that holding her was the most frightening and draining experience of his life and he was in absolute awe of Marion and Oritel for the endless care they put in being parents. It was also fascinating, though, to watch as the little hands reached for him and the eyes lit up as she mirrored his smile–Griffin had told him he'd been smiling the entire time when he'd first gotten to hold Bloom and he'd realized how true that was as he'd observed himself later on–and it was absolutely surreal to him that Marion and Oritel trusted him enough to let him hold their newborn daughter and share their happiness. Just two months ago he would have never believed that that would be his life. It was more like a fairytale rather than the nightmare that had been his home before he'd met Griffin.

Marion handed him Bloom slowly, making sure that he was cradling her head the way she'd shown him the first time she'd given her to him and he was grateful instead of annoyed that she was checking on him because he probably trusted himself less than she trusted him. And that was another thing he added on the list of things he wanted to say. He fully intended to since he was no longer the man that had been taught that the more others knew about you, the more vulnerable you were. He'd listened to Griffin and had shown the others his true colors and they had welcomed him like family. And if his marriage to her had taught him one thing, it was that family was most definitely a strength.

Marion headed to the kitchen and he found himself alone with baby Bloom who seemed enlivened by the different face she was seeing and was moving under the blanket she was wrapped in. Oritel was watching him, of course, which made him feel a little less helpless at the face of the very unfamiliar territory that babies were to him. And so was Griffin which was the only thing that could make him tear his gaze away from the little life in his arms that he had to guard carefully.

Griffin met his gaze and the smile that took over her face was shy and broke out slow from under the layers and layers of worries that he knew were swirling around in her head, but that only made it more precious to him because it meant she was battling her fears in the name of their family just like he was. And it warmed his heart to see her look so lovingly and longingly at the sight that he was with a baby in his arms. He knew the combination of exaltation and terror that gripped at him when it was her who was holding Bloom always left him unable to feel his mind and his stomach for a good few minutes after while his heart was pounding madly in his throat and trying to shrink out of existence at the same time. And that just meant that her appreciation for what she was seeing was that much stronger for it to come out so distinguished among the sea of fears.

He smiled in response and was surprised when Griffin walked over to him, putting a hand on his back and somehow that felt even better than the moment she'd let him take her hand at the alter. Perhaps because she was taking the next step into their happiness and it was still hard to believe that there were more because from the moment he'd heard her say "I do", he'd been the happiest man in the universe. And then they'd reached out to other people and somehow their happiness had seemed to expand. And now she was ready to reach for an even deeper connection between the two of them, for a tiny little human being that would outshine everything else with all the happiness woven into it.

"She's so tiny," Griffin whispered, her voice sounding like she'd start crying every second even if she'd already seen baby Bloom and had held her. And that was exactly what Valtor had said the first time he'd been allowed to hold the baby. Yet, she sounded like she was just rediscovering that fact and it had left her unable to function if anything like his thoughts had been running through her mind. "She's so fragile," Griffin added and this time there was definitely something dark in the words, something that seemed to startle Bloom as well as him as Griffin tangibly filled with negative energy and Valtor couldn't bear to watch her like that since it was like he was watching the woman he loved die slowly in front of him while he was unable to do anything. But it was exactly his place to do something for her and help her out of her thoughts like she'd done so many times for him.

"And she's so loved," he said as he turned to look at Griffin and didn't give up until she looked back at him and the tears in her eyes seemed to retreat scared by the security in his as it slowly seeped into her as well and the clouds behind her eyes cleared, letting the light of her love shine through.

Her fist closed into his suit jacket as she held on to him so that the emotions wouldn't sweep her away and offered Bloom one of her fingers, the baby latching on to it like it was a shiny thing that she wanted to add to her hoard and keeping her grounded.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ****This chapter is mainly flashbacks about their Christmas celebration with a ton of fluff and terrible jokes. Also, it's long as hell and drained every last bit of my energy. I can't type anymore. Send help.  
**

Bloom seemed absolutely enchanted by the two of them as she held on to Griffin's finger while her other hand was reaching for him, grabbing at his suit jacket or shirt only to release them in a moment and do it again. And Valtor knew to enjoy it while it lasted because she'd soon go back to sleep. Babies spent most of their time sleeping, apparently, which he couldn't have known but he was learning more and more things around Bloom since Faragonda and Marion, and even Oritel didn't mind explaining. And they also didn't judge him for not knowing these things already which he really appreciated.

"We should probably get the camera, Oritel," Marion's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and both him and Griffin turned to look at her. "You'll fit perfectly in the family album as you are right now," she explained when they looked at her perplexed.

"I think not," Griffin said, her tone just playful enough to let them know she wasn't serious, although there was nothing faked about her dislike of photos. "The only thing you should take is your baby back," she said, still not moving away from him and Bloom who was looking at her now, probably drawn in by her voice, and Valtor mentally hummed in agreement with her fascination since Griffin's voice always drew him to her as well.

Marion made a shocked expression before nodding to show she'd finally gotten the message. "You know, you holding on to her and cooing at her threw me off," she said as she walked to the couch to grab the other packet of cookies and get it on a plate.

Faragonda had already left the ring-shaped ones on the table while they'd been occupied with Bloom and hadn't noticed. They were placed in a bowl since they were small enough to fit into it and looked like a soup of engagement rings that Hagen was eying like it was poisonous even though he hadn't tried it yet.

"What's that in the other bag?" Marion asked as she pulled out the packet of cookies, her eyes on the still full bag, though.

"Oh, that's just a little present," Valtor said as he looked at her. "For Hagen," he added before Marion could start protesting against any more presents, making Hagen's head snap in his direction, his attention now swallowed by something else other than the cursed cookies. "Here, let me get it," Valtor said as he walked over to Oritel to let him take Bloom and then moved to the couch to grab the wrapped box–couldn't spoil the surprise, after all–and hand it to Hagen. "Something to occupy you during the New Year," he said, making Hagen narrow his eyes at him, the suspicion well deserved considering their history.

He still took it, though, and started opening it, pressured by all the eyes on him. Otherwise, he might have simply thrown it out without even bothering to unwrap it. Valtor knew how to set up his prank, though.

Hagen's face fell as he saw the picture on the box and the word at the top.

"_I didn't think you'd be this good at Jenga," Hagen said as he watched Valtor remove the piece they had all said he couldn't pull out without causing the whole tower to fall._

_Valtor didn't pay attention to him and focused on setting the piece down on top of the tower. They'd been going for about twenty minutes now which was longer than the average length of the game but they were both dexterous and precise and it was mostly a matter of concentration and strategy now. And perhaps a bit of luck. He would be okay, though–as long as someone didn't decide to make any abrupt movements near him and the tower–but he wasn't going to underestimate Hagen. He'd done it once before and he'd learned that it was a mistake._

_He set down the piece, the tower moving just barely, and turned to look at Hagen. "I've practiced my fine motor skills on Griffin," he said, grinning at Hagen who just looked at him and didn't waste his time reacting, focusing on the game instead._

_He pulled out one of the pieces that were towards the top, still managing to shake the tower but not enough for it to fall. It was left even more unstable than before, though, and Valtor had to admit that that had been a simple but good move. He'd have to up his game if he wanted to win this one._

_He went for an easier piece and managed to pull it out without any accidents but setting it on top would prove trickier._

"_I don't think I've seen Faragonda and Griffin kissing before," Oritel threw in casually just as Valtor was letting go of the piece and it would have been okay if Hagen hadn't jumped to his feet on his left and caused the whole table to shake, sending all the wooden parts falling in different directions._

_Valtor sighed and turned to see what was going on. He was pretty sure that Oritel had been just trying to rattle him to help his best friend out but it had backfired, serving them both right._

_He wasn't so sure about the part with the lie, though, when he saw Griffin and Faragonda standing at the door to the kitchen, still clinging to each other although they weren't kissing anymore, the mistletoe hanging above their heads a little bit like a guillotine although the threat from it was more indirect and avoidable but they had let themselves get caught red-handed._

_They looked rather concerned, with Griffin looking to him but he made sure to quickly nod at her to reassure her it was okay–he hadn't seen what had happened but it didn't really matter as it had been a joke–and Faragonda rushing over to Hagen who seemed absolutely shaken and the thing that brought him back was Faragonda telling him she loved him which was actually rather sweet and made Valtor suggest they dress up as Sleeping Beauty and the prince next Halloween but neither one of them seemed to appreciate the joke considering it was a kiss that had dragged them into the whole mess._

Hagen had kept bitching about the whole thing for the rest of the evening, even after both Faragonda and Griffin had reassured it had been just a stupid challenge–his wife didn't really have any boundaries when it came to pride and it looked like Faragonda hadn't had the common sense to back down on this one either which was why they'd ended up kissing–and it had only gotten worse when Valtor had pointed out Hagen had lost the game of Jenga. He'd even agreed to a rematch just to shut up Hagen and keep him off of Griffin's back.

"You're terrible at presents," Hagen said as he left the Jenga box on the coffee table as calmly as possible, trying not to play into Valtor's trap.

"No, I'm good at both pranks and presents and you know it," Valtor said just as calmly because, to differ from Hagen's claim, his words were true. Just like it was true that Hagen was only so sour about the whole thing because he'd lost to him and now didn't want to admit that he needed more practice if he ever wanted to even dream of beating him.

"You have to admit it, Hagen," Faragonda said as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his bicep, leaning heavily on him to draw his attention. "Valtor's Christmas present makes your office that much more livelier." And no doubt lovelier considering everything else inside it was just soulless metal. Even if Hagen claimed he was bringing all his creations to life. There was nothing natural and very little beautiful in his work. Though, that could be just Valtor's biased opinion since he'd always hated robots for being treated like one for so many years of his life.

"What about yours, Faragonda?" he turned to her since he needed to redirect his thoughts to something more pleasant and Faragonda was the logical person to seek out in that situation.

"Treasured and put to good use." She smiled at him, gratitude coloring her eyes a deeper shade of blue for a moment, and he was happy to see that she had taken so dearly to her present considering it wasn't anything really fancy. "Also," she leaned forward as if to share a secret with him, "Griselda may have been a little jealous of it," she whispered and he nodded conspiratorially before turning to Hagen again.

"See?" he said. "I clearly know what I'm doing. Marion is also here to confirm," he said as he turned to look at her.

"My present is in our bedroom," Marion offered immediately and he didn't miss the look that crossed Hagen's face at her betrayal, "but when Bloom grows up a little, I'll give it to her, to protect her," she looked at Valtor with that same deep emotion she'd shown at Christmas when he'd given her her present, as if to say thank you for all the abstract things that had been attached to the little trinket he'd gotten her. Griffin had always said that it was the thought that counted, though, and Marion's reaction had really confirmed that.

"What did you do with Bloom's present?" Griffin asked, taking the words out of his mouth since he was also curious about that.

"It's in the bedroom," Marion said, a hue of irritation painting her tone a more alarming color. "She's in love with it ever since you brought it," she said, the annoyance only getting louder in her voice. "She doesn't have eyes for anything else," she huffed, and while Valtor understood how that could be a problem considering Bloom wasn't to touch her present until she was a little bit older, he still couldn't get behind Marion's reaction since he and Griffin had put a lot of thought in all the presents they'd gotten.

"_I believe it is time for the presents," Valtor said as he left his glass of wine down next to the cup of tea Griffin was having. It made him look at her to make sure she was okay. She'd said her head was spinning slightly and had refused alcohol in favor of a steaming cup of tea that Faragonda had gone to make while Marion was holding Bloom who had woken up a few minutes ago, filling the whole living room with her cries over the babyphone as she'd demanded to be fed, and Marion had brought her back with her when she'd returned. Just in time for the presents. Or rather, Valtor was adapting his schedule to Bloom's since that gave the perfect opportunity to give her what he and Griffin had bought._

"_Okay, I'll go get ours," Oritel said as he got up in sync with Valtor and touched Marion's shoulder to tell her he had this as he headed upstairs._

"_Let's move to the couches then," Marion offered, having Faragonda rush to her side in case she needed help getting up with the baby in her arms. "I've got this," she said, still nodding appreciatively at Faragonda. "I've been through this already. Although, I have to admit I'm a little rusty," she said as she got up slowly and Faragonda pulled her chair backwards to make sure it was out of the way. "It's been a long time."_

_Daphne was an adult now and spending Christmas with her boyfriend whose name Valtor still didn't have memorized even though he'd met the young man at the hospital when they'd been visiting Bloom. Griffin had told him it was serious between them and he'd been convinced of it himself when he'd seen him come with Daphne to see her newborn sister and hadn't even freaked out when Daphne had been holding the baby. Though, to be fair, Marion and Oritel had been tactful and hadn't tried to say anything that could make both Daphne and her boyfriend uncomfortable. However, Valtor also suspected that with Oritel at least it may have been less thoughtfulness and more overprotective father mode as he probably didn't like to think about his daughter leaving the family nest and starting her own family._

_Valtor offered Griffin a hand to help her up from her chair. She seemed okay but he didn't want to risk it. And he'd been so busy with his job the last few days that he'd barely gotten to touch her while awake–having her wrapped in his arms and pressed against him while they slept was good and everything but he hadn't really gotten to enjoy the feeling of holding her–so he was looking to make up for it considering there were more of those days ahead since he still had a lot of work until he was done for the year. Not to mention that the beginning of the next one was just as booked with paperwork and business meetings._

"_I'm okay," Griffin said, her voice with a certain edge added from the annoyance that made its way into her tone and that worried him more than her physical health. She did look fine but she didn't sound that way and he wasn't sure what was wrong. She'd been smiling and laughing when they'd arrived but something had changed after her conversation with Faragonda and he had half a mind to pull the other woman aside and demand answers from her but he was afraid it was something he'd done that had upset Griffin and that was why she'd went to Faragonda. Or perhaps it was the whole argument with Hagen who was still sulking about the kiss even though they hadn't even seen it which supported Griffin's claims that it had been short and innocent joking around. He certainly hoped it wasn't that because he didn't want to have to fight Hagen when they were supposed to celebrate but he would if he was the reason why Griffin's mood had dropped through the floor._

"_I never thought I'd get scolded for being romantic," Valtor said theatrically as he let his shoulders slump and a pout take over his face as he decided to focus on lifting her spirits for now. She usually loved it when he got all soft and clung to her like his life depended on it. It had felt that way when she'd been the only good thing in his life, the only person who'd been good to him. And he would never be able to thank her enough but he was doing his best to show her how much he appreciated her at all times._

"_I'm sorry," Griffin said as she rose from her chair and put a hand on his chest as she kissed his cheek. "This headache makes me all grumpy," she said as she fidgeted with the collar of his shirt, looking at it and not at him, and it hurt him to think his words had plunged her into guilt. He'd just been joking to get her to smile and the tortured look on her face that she was trying to hide from him was the last thing he'd wanted to see._

"_We can leave if you want," he said as he stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. He was dying to see her eyes and make sure everything was okay but he didn't want to force her to look at him. He still had no idea if she was upset because of him–and he sure as hell wasn't buying the story about the headache–and didn't want to add more to that. No matter how much he wanted to offer her comfort. He'd have to do that with words for now and hope that they would reach her even if it had been his actions that had made her close off._

"_No, I'm fine," Griffin said, a little bit too quickly for him to believe it, but he was happy to see her look at him. And she gave him a smile that was genuine even if it didn't stay on her face long. "I know how excited you were about the part with the presents," she said, the look in her eyes so knowing as she'd seen him when he'd been overflowing with anticipation and restless energy as they'd picked the gifts. It had been his first time shopping for Christmas presents with Griffin if he didn't count those times Griffin and he had picked gifts for her mother since he'd only had her to surprise the previous years and he might have been more excited about Christmas than he'd ever been in his entire life. Christmas had only meant more burden being put on his shoulders while masked as gifts from his mothers, and while the Christmases with Griffin had been very warm and soft, and sometimes even tear-jerking as she'd gotten him things that he'd been thinking of getting for himself, thus proving she was the best gift he could ever want since she knew him so well, it was a different feeling to have friends to shop for. He was still a bit dizzy from the frenzied experience. "We can't bail now," Griffin said conspiratorially, the grin on her face a response to the smile that had taken over his at the thoughts._

"_Okay, but if you don't feel better, we're leaving after that," he said, holding her gaze to show he was serious. As much as he loved the celebration and all the positive emotion it had accumulated in him, her health and comfort were a priority. And he would pick her up and carry her to the car if he had to in order to make sure that she wasn't pushing herself just because of him. He valued her efforts to make him happy, but he was happiest when he could take care of her and knew she was okay, and he wanted to make sure she knew that._

"_Okay," Griffin chuckled, the amusement reaching her eyes and dissolving some of the darkness into them to allow them to shine once again. She cupped his cheek, her thumb moving over his skin in a soothing repetition. "Thank you," she said, her voice folding under the weight of the emotion in it when he was the one who had to thank her since she'd just quelled all of his worries that it was him who'd done something to upset her even when he'd been too scared to ask and had instead tried to rationalize that he hadn't done anything wrong._

"_I love you," he said as he caught her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss her fingers and thank her for the gentleness she regarded him with whether she was touching him with her hands or with her words. Especially since he let her down sometimes and ran from the problems instead of trying to talk to her and solve them directly but she still treated him with the same love and kindness._

"_I love you," Griffin said and the smile she gave him was small again but that was okay because it couldn't convey her feelings the way her eyes were doing it anyway and she let them glow with all the love she had for him, drawing him closer like a hearth that would keep you warm in the vicious embrace of the chilling winter. And he was so lucky to be able to call her heart home as he was safe there and surrounded by all the beauty her love offered him._

"_Are you two going to join us or just keep standing there?" Faragonda asked, snapping them out of their little bubble._

"_Someone's impatient for presents," Griffin said as she turned to look at Faragonda before flashing him a mischievous grin and pulling him towards the couches where their friends were already sitting, just for Faragonda to glare at them both playfully even though he hadn't done anything._

_Oritel arrived carrying four boxes wrapped in different wrapping paper and Valtor's mind was immediately occupied with the task of figuring out which present was for who. He supposed the green one was for Faragonda. The silvery was probably for Hagen. The blue one was most likely for him which meant the maroon one had to be for Griffin._

"_Okay, we're all settled," Marion said as Oritel sat down next to her and placed the four boxes on the coffee table in front of him. "Who'll go first?"_

"_We will," Valtor fired out before she could even look around. She'd barely finished her sentence, in fact, and he startled her a little but he was losing the last ounces of patience he had left, feeling all giddy like a child staring at the presents under the Christmas tree. He was more excited about giving presents, though, rather than about receiving them since he'd never really done that before. Although, he had to admit there was some apprehension as well since he didn't know what reactions he'd get. Griffin had always been thrilled by the gifts he'd gotten her but it was easy to shop for her as he knew her so well he could practically read her thoughts sometimes. He'd just started communicating with the others but Griffin had been there to assist with the selection process and guide him so he was optimistic if still a bit reserved._

"_He's really exited about this," she said, looking at Marion who smiled and nodded, giving them card blanche. "You should know that Valtor chose the presents. I just paid for them," Griffin said as he pulled out their presents from the Christmas shopping bags they'd put them in to get everything there. It wasn't true but she seemed amused by the joke and he loved seeing her radiating joy once again so he wasn't going to argue with her. Besides, the others were well aware that that hadn't been what had happened._

"_Okay, the first one's for Bloom here," he said as he grabbed the box wrapped in soft yellow that was held in place by a sky blue ribbon and handed it to Oritel which was probably not the best news for the wrapping paper but Marion's hands were busy with Bloom currently. And with protesting._

"_You already got her so many things," she said as she looked from him to Griffin and then back. "I don't think she'll get to wear all the clothes you've bought her since she'll grow out of them. You know, there are only so many days in a year," she said, chuckling despite herself, and the sound was full of emotion that got to her eyes as well. She looked genuinely touched by their enthusiasm and love for her baby and her fingers closed in Bloom's blanket as if she was trying to hold on to the knowledge that her daughter was loved and protected._

"_Then you'll simply change outfits every few hours," Griffin said as she leaned forward as if to give heaviness to her suggestion and make Marion see that that was the obvious solution._

"_We couldn't help ourselves," Valtor said as he caught Griffin's hand and she let go of her joke, nodding in support of his words. "We knew we had to get it for her when we saw it," Valtor said, looking at Marion and holding her gaze until hers softened so much that she looked like she was going to cry so she turned to see what they'd gotten._

_Oritel had managed to open the present without shredding the wrapping paper too much and he reached into the box, pulling out the stuffed bunny._

_It wasn't very big but they'd thought that was okay since Bloom was still so small herself. It was a shade of blue that was neither light nor dark and was very soothing at least to him and Griffin while the belly was white and the legs were too. It had big eyes, cute pink nose, long ears and a very orange carrot in one of its front legs._

_Marion gasped as she saw it and looked like she would reach for it but she remembered she was holding Bloom. "It's adorable," she said as she looked at them before turning her attention to Bloom as Oritel showed her the bunny, all of them waiting with baited breath to see how the baby would react. The toy was for her, after all, and they needed her opinion to know if the mission of finding a present had been successful._

_Bloom's eyes lit up as she saw the bunny and she reached for it with both hands, making them all laugh collectively at her obvious enjoyment._

"_I think she approves," Marion said as she smiled at Griffin and Valtor. "I don't think it's a good idea to give it to her yet, though. She's little and I don't want her putting fake fur in her mouth," Marion said as she looked to Oritel, motioning for him to put the bunny back into the box._

"_We knew it's a bit early for stuffed toys, but we just had to buy it for her," Griffin said as she squeezed his hand, checking if he was okay and to make sure he hadn't been left disappointed. They had discussed it beforehand, though, and she'd warned him that Marion probably wouldn't give the toy to Bloom until she was a little bit older so he'd been prepared for that outcome. "We simply had to buy it, though, since we thought it was perfect," Griffin added._

_They hadn't even been looking for stuffed toys when they'd seen it at the window of one shop and had both fallen in love with it. They'd known there was no way it would wait for them to buy it for next Christmas so they'd decided to rush things a little and get it now. They'd considered holding on to it and giving it to Bloom the following year but they'd both known that wasn't a plausible scenario and they'd found themselves wrapping it–they'd done that themselves even though he'd had work to do but he'd been absolutely ecstatic about the presents and Griffin had taken matters into her own hands, buying wrapping paper and ribbons and helping him make the presents look beautiful, then helping with his paperwork as well, and his heart had ached with love for her since he hadn't known how to express what everything she'd done for him meant to him–before they'd even looked at the other presents._

"_Thank you," Marion said. "I'm sure it will be well loved so you made the right call." She knit her brows. "Even if you've already spoiled her with so many gifts."_

"_We just wanted to welcome her into the world and our big family properly," Hagen spoke, drawing all their attention to himself, and Valtor was surprised by the softness of the words. Not that Hagen had shown anything else around the baby. _

_He'd been just as thrilled–if not even more–as him to see the baby since she was practically his niece. And he'd been even more panicked than Valtor the first time he'd held Bloom but it had been an oddly adorable sight and Valtor had seen Faragonda wiping at the corner of her eye discreetly which had only frustrated him more with Hagen's resistance to proposing. And even though he couldn't really say anything since he'd done the exact same thing with Griffin, he couldn't help the feeling that Hagen was just wasting time that he could spend making Faragonda happy. And Valtor had made that mistake so he didn't want to just stand and watch while someone else was making it as well if he could help._

"_Exactly," Valtor said as he nodded at Hagen before turning to look at Marion who smiled at him and then turned to smile at Hagen too. "Now for the other presents," Valtor said, drawing their attention back to him. He probably should have allowed for a more natural shift of the mood and the conversation but he wasn't done playing Santa Claus yet. "Here's something for the head of the business," he said as he reached into his inner pocket and pulled a silver plated pen that gave off the shine of a guillotine and had a black bow attached to it._

_He looked at Oritel for a moment before turning to Marion and handing it to her, making her shake her head at his antics while Oritel looked like someone had snatched away his cake right under his nose. Valtor couldn't help but grin widely at the success of his prank._

"_Give it to Oritel," Marion said and before he could comment on how she didn't have to let Oritel take the credit for her accomplishments, she spoke again."I can't take it right now," she said as she raised Bloom slightly as if to remind him of the precious thing she was holding. "I'm sure it will come in handy, though," she said before smiling at him conspiratorially._

_He returned it and handed the pen to Oritel who scowled at him but took it nonetheless. "I'll just go on and give Oritel's gift first so that you can give him Bloom after that and open yours," he said as he looked at Marion again._

"_I thought that was my gift," she said, her tone questioning._

"_That was just a joke," Valtor said as he moved to grab the next gift that was coincidentally wrapped in silver just like one of Marion and Oritel's. "Merry Christmas," he said as he handed it to Oritel with a wide grin on his face. The man deserved a reward for sitting through the joke at his expense so stoically._

_Oritel glared at him before his expression softened and he took the gift. "Thank you," he said, sounding sincere, and tasked himself with opening the gift, tearing through the red ribbon and silver wrapping paper like a wild beast and nearly making Valtor wince at the careless destruction of his and Griffin's handiwork. Though, perhaps it was because for him there were fond memories tied to the fragile paper and that was what got such a reaction out of him. He probably had to be glad that Oritel seemed impatient to see what they'd gotten him, and not just because of an unspoken rivalry between them. In fact, Griffin had put a limit on the money they spent on the presents, not because they didn't have more than enough, but because she didn't want their presents to turn into a competition about who had more money. That would be an ugly massacre of the Christmas and friendship spirit they had gathered to celebrate, and he'd admitted she had a point._

_Oritel seemed to freeze as he opened the small box and saw what was inside and Valtor felt anxiety seeping into him as he wondered whether his attempt at thoughtfulness wouldn't be taken as another tasteless joke. He had to use what his mothers had taught him about nervousness to force himself to sit still and not betray any of his thoughts._

"_I have to admit that I didn't expect anything that would fit so well with my personal tastes," Oritel said, sounding shaken and Valtor couldn't tell if that was only due to his choice of a present or it also had something to do with Oritel admitting his own thoughts on the matter. "Perhaps you've gotten a better grip on what I'm like than either one of us expected," Oritel said as he looked from the silvery tie in the box to him._

_Valtor gave a chuckle, put a little on edge by the knowing look Oritel gave him as he'd read his nervousness about the whole thing which he had to admit was scary. His mothers' methods had always worked–apart from that time they had been caught and sent to jail, of course–and if Oritel had seen through that, then either he was way better at reading people than he let on or Valtor had screwed over with the execution since he'd gone soft. Though, perhaps that wasn't a problem now that he didn't have to hide when he was surrounded by people who respected him and his personal space while also offering their support and friendship and it was completely up to him how much of that he wanted to accept._

"_Okay, time for Marion's present," he said as he motioned at her to let Oritel take Bloom and turned to grab the present. That one had an effect on his stomach as well since he'd picked it all by himself without any help from Griffin and he was at that wonderful point of doubting every single decision that had led him to this moment. But at the same time the anxiety was less acute since he knew Marion would be understanding even if he'd messed up her present. "Careful," he said as he handed it to her now that her hands were free. "It's breakable."_

_Marion raised her brows in surprise before giving a small insecure smile as she probably wondered what was inside the box and went for unwrapping it. She was a lot more careful as she removed the green ribbon and started working on the pink paper, actually unwrapping it instead of tearing through it and Valtor appreciated that._

_She was done in no time and opened the lid of the box, reaching inside to take out her present that was wrapped in protective foil so she had some more unpacking to do. It took her just a few extra seconds to let the dragon figurine out of it. She held it carefully for the amethyst geode at the basis, studying it with awe of the delicate blown glass and the mix of purple and golden shades that it was colored in._

"_Dragons are protectors so I thought I'd get you one to guard you and your family," he said, drawing Marion's gaze to himself and the look in her eyes was so touched and made them so open, like he could see into her soul and read the gratitude that was engraved there. And it reached into his soul as if to plant a spark of the bond that seemed to form between them that would keep burning at all times, keeping him warm and reassuring him that he had a friend he could count on. Because he was taking care of her family and she was ready to do the same for him. And that knowledge shook him to his very core, making the world around seem different with the feeling of genuine friendship and the promise of care and protection. For him and everything he held dear._

"_Thank you," Marion said, her voice firm with security even if it wasn't much louder than a whisper. Though, she didn't need to say anything, for he'd already understood everything from her eyes. "I'll go put it somewhere safe so that we don't break it," she said as she got up, prompting Oritel to move and make space for her to get past him. "You continue without me," she said and no one protested since they were all one big family and they all understood she needed a moment._

"_Okay then, we continue with Hagen," Valtor said, looking to the man in question and giving him a devious smirk that made Hagen reply with a suspicious look. "Here's your present," he said as he took the box wrapped in warm brown with a blue ribbon, holding it carefully since it was the biggest and heaviest one so far. "Be careful when you unwrap it," he warned as he got up to hand it to Hagen who was a bit too far away._

"_Is it breakable?" Hagen asked as he took it, the distrustful look melting away when the curiosity grasped at his mind._

"_Yes and no," Valtor said mysteriously, doing his best to hold in his smugness at the baffled expression that took over Hagen's face. There would be enough time for that when the present was unwrapped. "It is alive, though," Valtor said, unable to restrain himself from giving away some of the surprise. But it wasn't such a bad idea considering the positively shocked look he got from the robotics engineer at that. "It's not anything disgusting," he reassured at the apprehension that so obviously took over Hagen's entire being. "It's a present, after all." Which didn't mean it couldn't be a prank as well._

"_It's probably a plant, Hagen," Faragonda said as she moved closer to Hagen and put a hand on his to calm him down. Valtor had to admit he was a bit disappointed by that but it was probably for the best since he still needed Hagen to open the present._

_Hagen's suspicion had returned but he allowed Faragonda to talk him into opening it–though, considering he only caved in after the intense stare they shared, it was probably closer to the truth to say promise-to-kiss him into it if not something more–and help him do so which made the process faster and more effective. The box was soon left ready to be opened and Hagen gave him one last glare before lifting the lid._

"_A cactus," he said, his tone screaming 'I should have seen this coming' as he scowled, probably mad at himself for letting Valtor's mind games get to him. "I think we all see the symbolism," he said sardonically as he looked at Valtor, giving him his cue to take the reins of his little prank once again._

"_Yes, I thought it was fitting considering how adaptive the cacti are in order to survive the extreme drought of the desert. And they still manage to produce beautiful blossoms," he gave a little lecture which couldn't even be called that compared to the information Griffin had poured out on him when they'd been picking the cactus. She'd told him the Latin name of the species they'd chosen but he couldn't have been bothered to remember it. He had, however, memorized that it was a rare South American species that gave beautiful pale yellow flowers. And hairy fruits, but there was no need to tell Hagen that and spoil the entire surprise. "I thought your workplace could probably use something aesthetic in it," he teased but that didn't seem to register with Hagen who seemed shocked for a whole new reason now._

"_Oh," he said, slightly embarrassed by his distrust in Valtor, though it had been completely deserved. "That's thoughtful of you," he admitted as he wrapped an arm around Faragonda's waist and drew her closer as if he was looking to retreat in her affection to get over the whole ordeal. He still eyed the cactus rather affectionately, though._

"_Your office could use some life," Faragonda said as she put her hand on his shoulder for leverage to lift herself a little and kiss his cheek, making him smile even if he didn't feel like it. It was a little bit like looking into a mirror. Except he and Griffin looked far better._

"_And for you, Faragonda," Valtor said, making them both look to him again, "this," he gave the box to Griffin so that she could pass it to Faragonda. It was wrapped in forest green with a yellow ribbon holding it all together. There was no prank in this one, just a genuine attempt at getting Faragonda something she'd like._

_She opened the gift carefully and pulled out the thermos bottle he'd gotten her so that her tea would be warm at all times just like she was. The bottle was dark blue in color with an intricate silver flower pattern over it. He'd had it custom-made since the ones he'd been able to find hadn't fit his vision of a good present. And the shade of the blue was almost identical to that of Faragonda's eyes. It could easily replace a name tag._

"_I love it," Faragonda said as she smiled at him, making him smile back now that he knew his efforts hadn't been misplaced. Not that he'd really had many doubts about this one since she was such a positive person that she was happy with the smallest show of affection, but he didn't do things half-way. And Faragonda was his oldest friend from the group. It had been worth the extra efforts._

"_Well, that unwraps up our presents," Valtor said, turning to Griffin and the smile she gave him made the content he felt complete. They'd done well with their mission and everyone had liked the presents. Plus, they'd gotten away with a joke or two, and that was a total victory in his book._

"_We should wait for Marion before we continue, though," Faragonda said as she looked up from the thermos but didn't let it out of her grasp, making Hagen sulk that he'd lost her touch to an inanimate object. Or perhaps it was because it was a present from him and Griffin. The accident with the kiss seemed forgotten but there were plenty of other reasons for Hagen to not be their biggest fan._

"_I'm here," Marion said, walking over to the couch and sitting down back at her seat next to Oritel. She seemed to have gotten control over her emotional state once again and looked ready to continue the action. "That's a beautiful cactus, Hagen," she said, her tone slightly teasing and making Hagen glare at her but the smile that was on his face at the same time gave away he wasn't serious. "And a lovely thermos bottle," she said as she looked in Faragonda's direction. "I see your presents were well received," she turned to him and Griffin before looking to Oritel. "It's time for ours then?" she asked and he nodded. "Why don't you give me Bloom and hand them out?" she extended her arms, waiting to take Bloom from Oritel._

"_I think it'd be best if you did that. She just fell asleep," Oritel said, keeping his voice down and making them all peek at the baby to see her peaceful face as she slept._

"_We should get her to her crib then," Marion said, already jumping to her feet again but Oritel gestured for her to sit back down._

"_I can handle this," he reassured before getting up. "You handle the gifts," he said and headed for the second floor._

"_I'm sorry," Marion turned to them again. "We let the babysitter go home so that she can celebrate as well but now we can't give you our undivided attention."_

"_I don't think anyone here minds," Valtor said and the others nodded, making Marion relax. Though, the very fact that she was bothering with excuses made him uneasy. It reminded him of the stiff etiquette his mothers had always gone on and on about. He had no idea how Marion had been raised but there was something way too familiar for comfort in her behavior. So he was glad to see they could all offer her some respite from that._

"_Okay, let's get to the gifts then," Marion said. "I think I'll start with Valtor," she said as she grabbed the maroon gift, proving at least two of his guesses wrong and handed it to him._

_Considering how mindful he'd been about the way they'd all opened their presents, he had to shame himself as well. Though, he hadn't meant to tear the wrapping paper open. It had just... happened, and he couldn't decide whether the flimsier thing was the paper or his attempt at a double standard._

_He managed to open it, though, to find a golden watch inside. __"Trying to tell me something now, are you?" __he asked as he looked at Marion. __He and Griffin had been the last to arrive almost every single time they'd gathered. __Having in mind that Griffin was so adamant about punctuality, she was surprisingly silent on the topic, both __at__ the moment and in general. Though, he suspected that could be because she treasured their alone time as much as he did._

"_Perhaps," Marion smirked, just to tease him._

"_Thanks for the indirect attack," he joked. He wasn't a fan of clocks. He'd been rushed enough when he was younger and even now at his job when he always had to meet one deadline or another. Hearing a watch ticking on his wrist like the countdown to a bomb was one of the last things he wanted. He did appreciate the choice of a hue, though, since the gold wasn't gleaming, but looked dark and cool. And he could understand why they'd went for the watch. Business required some punctuality and if they'd been out of ideas what to get him, then he wasn't offended. He hadn't exactly given them guidelines and they knew him for a short time. He'd only been so successful with his gifts because Griffin had helped._

"_I was in favor of a nice bottle of old wine but Oritel said it was a gift that wouldn't leave a lasting impression," Marion said and Valtor had to make an effort not to show how much he would have preferred the bottle of wine over the watch even though Marion had already gotten that. He didn't want to make her feel guilty for spending so much money on the watch, though. They'd done their best, and that was all that mattered. Perhaps he could even use the watch to make some of the more insufferable business partners jealous. "I hope we guessed your tastes better," Marion turned to Griffin as she handed her the green gift, sending Valtor in shock over another wrong guess._

_Griffin did unpack it patiently and dexterously without leaving a single tear in the wrapping people and opened it to reveal a scarf that __Valtor didn't need to touch to know was silk. It was a mixture of rusty red and golden that combined together well and would look great on her._

"_It's lovely," Griffin said as she ran her hand over the delicate fabric. She wasn't much for scarves–although she seemed to appreciate the fine quality of it–but they'd had an interesting experience with one of the three of those she had when he'd accidentally pulled it, choking her, but instead of being angry, she'd told him to do it again. And of course, all those times they'd used the scarves as blindfolds and even as restraints._

"_It will certainly come in handy," he said as he grinned at Griffin who licked her lips, sensing the direction of his thoughts. And so did the others._

"_I can't tell if you two are just horny twenty-four-seven or can't find the time to have sex," Hagen said, startling them all since he usually avoided those discussions. They might have annoyed him enough to make him jump at the opportunity to get back at them. Or he could have simply started feeling more comfortable around them which was highly doubtful, considering what they'd both put him through that evening._

"_Both."_

"_Both," their voices echoed simultaneously. They wouldn't have been able to do that if they'd practiced it but, unfortunately, it was true at this time of the year._

"_You try to find the time for anything, really, when you have a stack of paperwork taller than you are to fill out. On top of meetings and whatnot," Valtor said, feeling the exhaustion seep into him just from talking about what he had to go through at his job. "I barely get the time to look at her when I get home and then again before I go to bed. We can't even have dinner together, and even if I could find the time for sex, I certainly wouldn't have the energy," he said, glad to feel Griffin's hand on his arm as her touch always charged him with energy._

"_Well, I imagine the gift will help you make up for it once all the paperwork is off your back," Marion said, her voice steady and calm but there was a mischievous spark in her eyes when he looked at her._

"_I very much hope so," he said as he drew Griffin closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck, tempting him to pull her in his lap but that would mean carrying her out of there and driving home because he doubted he could resist the temptation of her body after all the endless hours he'd had to devote to paperwork instead of to her._

"_I think now would be a good time to continue before they forget they're not alone," Hagen said, making them both grin at him devilishly but they didn't have the time to make him pay for the remark when Faragonda interfered._

"_I would like to give our gift now if you don't mind?" she looked at Marion who nodded. "We got one gift for both of you since we know how glued you are to each other," Faragonda teased as she turned to them and Griffin pressed herself even harder in him just to prove that, putting a smile on his face and making him kiss the top of her head like she was a priceless treasure. Because she was._

"_What did you get us?" Valtor asked innocently which was the exact opposite of what was going on in his head–especially with Griffin pressed so hard into him–and they all knew that._

"_I'm not gonna give it to you if you keep that up," Hagen said as he pulled back the big box he was about to hand them._

"_Oh, Hagen, are you gonna deny us?" Griffin asked, the laughter almost bursting out of her before she'd managed to get the whole sentence out. "That's very cruel of you," she managed to keep it together for one more sentence before her beautiful laughter filled the living room, though Hagen didn't seem amused at all with her teasing but Valtor couldn't give a damn about that when her body was vibrating on the frequency of happiness next to him, filling him with joy as well._

"_Just give it to them," Faragonda urged. "They can turn everything into a joke but perhaps the gift will leave them speechless," she said as she took it from Hagen and handed it to Griffin who let go of Valtor, conquered by curiosity, and reached for it._

_They opened it together, ripping the elegant black wrapping paper to shreds but he didn't pay attention to that since Griffin looked excited to see what was inside._

_They were met with a wooden chess set of high quality and impressive workmanship that had golden threads engraved in the chess pieces, making them look elegant while also keeping it simple and very aesthetic without being over the top. The "white" chess pieces were made of oak wood while the "black" were from cherry wood and they were all carved very precisely. It was obvious how much effort and love had been put into the making of the set which made it all the more beautiful._

"_I'm surprised it's not all... metallic and robotized," Valtor said as he looked at Hagen, deciding to switch the topic of the teases from sex to something Hagen was more acquainted with._

"_I thought about that but Faragonda said that something more pretentious will fit your old-fashioned taste better," Hagen shot back, allowing a smirk to take over his features at the momentary pause his words gave Valtor. Though, it wasn't because he was outsmarted. He was trying to figure out how the simple chess set was pretentious, and then he realized – Hagen just didn't know the meaning of the words he was using._

"_For the record, I never said that," Faragonda jumped in to straighten things out although that wasn't necessary. He could see through Hagen's poor attempt to get a reaction out of him and he knew Faragonda wouldn't say something like that even if she was thinking it. "I said that you prefer classical over futuristic."_

_He was going to reassure her but Griffin cut in before he could open his mouth._

"_Please, tell me you didn't go broke just to get us this," Griffin said as she looked to Faragonda and there were tears in her eyes but it wasn't clear whether they were there because she was touched by the gesture or because she was worried. Knowing her, Valtor would say both. "I'm in love with it and it's beautiful and amazing, and precious, but please, tell me you didn't spend too much on it," she said as she reached for Faragonda and caught her hand._

"_No, don't worry," Faragonda said as she patted the back of her hand. "We fit into our budget so you can enjoy it without worrying about that," she said and smiled at the teary look Griffin was giving her. She knew how much Griffin loved chess–and he shared her passion–so that was the perfect Christmas present for both of them._

"_Thank you," Griffin said, moving to hug Faragonda._

"_Now that that's settled," Hagen said, only looking at Valtor when he made sure there would be no more kissing, "I would love to beat your ass at chess," he said, his voice full of challenge and some very misplaced smugness. The only one who could beat Valtor at chess was Griffin._

"_No way," Griffin said as she let go of Faragonda, practically throwing herself back at Valtor as if to make sure he wouldn't run away from her to play chess with Hagen. It looked like the robotics engineer wasn't the only jealous one but Griffin was jealous when it came to chess. "Valtor and I are breaking in the new set," she said as she clutched as his arm as well as at the chessboard like a little kid afraid of having her toys snatched away and Valtor couldn't help but smile at the affection he was getting even if it was prompted by pettiness._

"_Well, what are you waiting for?" Hagen asked sitting closer to the edge of his seat. "Start your game so that I can beat him, too," he urged, getting up and reaching over the table to grab at the chess set but Griffin pulled it out of his reach, glaring at him and just about ready to start hissing at him._

_She did put the chessboard on the coffee table when she made sure he wasn't going to touch it and started placing the chess pieces on it, allowing Valtor to help her. It looked like they weren't leaving, after all._


End file.
